The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Russia announced this Thursday the holding of local elections on September 10 in the four annexed Ukrainian regions in the midst of war and martial law.
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“Elections in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation will be held in a single voting day on September 10, 2023. This decision was made this Thursday by the CEC of Russia,” said the institution led by Ela Pamfílova.
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The day before, the interim governors imposed by Russia in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson They asked the CEC of Russia to hold municipal elections as the whole of that country does on September 10.
Russia alone controls practically all of Lugansk, while in Donetsk it was more than half Ukrainian before the counteroffensive, in Zaporizhia close to 80% and in Kherson only the southern third of the southern province.
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The Kremlin announced last September its annexation and their incorporation as new Russian regions into the Russian Constitution after referendums without guarantees and in the midst of bombardments.
In addition, the Russian Legislature processed a law this spring that will allow referendums and local and state elections to be held in the Russian regions where martial law is in force, as is the case in these four provinces since October 19, 2022.
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Ukraine has denounced that Russia forces residents of these regions to accept Russian passports. In the Zaporizhia region more than 250,000 Russian passports have been issued so far, while in Kherson there are more than 90,000, according to the Interior Ministry and pro-Russian authorities.
Total, As of the end of March, Russia has issued more than 1.2 million passports in the annexed territories. The CEC explained that elections will be held for the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s councils and representative bodies in 21 and 28 municipalities, respectively, as well as for the Zaporizhia Legislative Assembly and other local bodies in 16 municipalities.
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In turn, there will be elections for the Kherson regional Duma (Lower House) and other local institutions in 14 municipalities. In total there are 79 municipalities, added the CEC.
Pamfilova said that after receiving the requests from the governors, the CEC had five days to consult with the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB) on the feasibility or not of holding elections in these territories.
“The position was very clear that elections can be held. Furthermore, the Defense Ministry sent a letter to the CEC with recommendations on the conditions under which the vote should be held and what the Commission should do,” he said.
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The regional and municipal elections on September 10 will be held on the same day in 85 Russian regions -now in 89-and include the renewal of 21 governors and deputies in 20 regions.
In 2024, Russia will also hold presidential elections, elections in which the current Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, may run for re-election.
Some analysts point out that, in the event of a defeat in the military campaign in Ukraine or the declaration of martial law throughout the country, the presidential elections could be postponed.
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Instead, last February Putin stressed that “both the local and regional ones of September of this year and the presidential ones of 2024, will take place in strict accordance with the legislation, respecting all constitutional democratic procedures”.
The 2020 constitutional reform allows Putin to run for re-election in both 2024 and 2030.
EFE
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